Help Requested for Gecko Speech to Kiddos

[Double LY]

My son's after school program has invited me to give a presentation on leopard geckos next Friday. Anyone have any fun ideas or interesting facts that would "wow" a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds????

I am planning on bringing in a few different morphs so the kids can see some of the variety and beauty of leos and I will tell some basic information about where they come from in the wild and how to care for them in captivity. We hatched one baby for a friend (BluGnat here) who moved away earlier this year. I froze the egg so I can bring that in and I also froze part of an uneaten shed so I can bring that as well.

Obviously I will be dealing with short attention spans so any helpful hints are much appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Ipsl]

FEED ONE A PINKY IN CLASS!!!!!!!!!! Yeah so I'm a a child at heart. So what.

 

[acpart]

I have a section in my care sheet called "kids and geckos" and it includes some observation questions. I'm about to head out of town but I'll send it to you Sat. night when I get back. A PM with an email address would be good.

Aliza

 

[Double LY]

I have a section in my care sheet called "kids and geckos" and it includes some observation questions. I'm about to head out of town but I'll send it to you Sat. night when I get back. A PM with an email address would be good.

Aliza

PM sent. Thanks again!!!

 

[moosassah]

1. They look like a ghost before they shed and then they eat their skin! Be prepared for "why do they eat their skin?". A good picture of one about to shed could be passed around.
2. What's your favorite snack? "CANDY!!" Well, geckos have snack foods too that they only get to eat once in a while as a special treat. Show them some wax worms. Anyone want some??? They're like m&ms for geckos!
3. Let the kids name some things that hatch from an egg. Depending on the age group you'll get birds & chickens for answers. Perfect intro for your frozen egg.
4. Housing: humid hide is like a sauna or a really warm bath, food dish always has live mealies in it, they need special calcium powder to lick in order to have healthy bones...they like to hide in rocks (little caves). They need belly heat to digest their food/regulate their body temperature so there's a heater on the bottom of their house.
5. They have a special vet for check ups & when they get sick.
6. Nocturnal & don't need bright light so you can use a red light or black one to see them at night without hurting their eyes.
7. Feeding: worms always impress kids, you can mention the other foods crickets & pinkies etc. I highly recommend you don't feed a pinkie in the class because of too many sensitive kids & the phone calls it may generate by the parents. Don't forget to tell them that you have to feed the worms too & the kinds of stuff they eat (especially veggies!).
8. Morphs. It'd be great if you can show them an example of this is mom & this is dad & this is what kind of pattern you get by mixing them up. Having a couple of differnt morphs will do the trick though. Just like all the kids in the classroom are different.
9. If you have any rescues kids love to hear that stuff too.

As the mom of 2 boys about to turn 5 & 7 I can tell you...BE PREPARED! If you don't want anyone touching your geckos bring them in a LARGE & TALL container. If you are going to allow touching make them wash their hands first & explain very carefully what is OK. You may want to tell them to put out only their pointer finger so that they can feel that the gecko is dry & bumpy.

Good luck & whatever you do have fun with it! Oh by the way go to the party store & buy a bag of stretchy lizards to give out to the class. It will help them remember the exciting thing that happened at school later on & you'll be way cool.

 

[Ipsl]

7. Feeding: worms always impress kids, you can mention the other foods crickets & pinkies etc. I highly recommend you don't feed a pinkie in the class because of too many sensitive kids & the phone calls it may generate by the parents. Don't forget to tell them that you have to feed the worms too & the kinds of stuff they eat (especially veggies!).

cool.

LOL.... I guess I was just one of THOSE kids :bandana: :main_rolleyes:

 

[Double LY]

Holy moly you are awesome!

What's your favorite snack? "CANDY!!" Well, geckos have snack foods too that they only get to eat once in a while as a special treat. Show them some wax worms. Anyone want some??? They're like m&ms for geckos!

Excellent idea (unless there's a worm eater in the group LOL)

I highly recommend you don't feed a pinkie in the class because of too many sensitive kids & the phone calls it may generate by the parents.

No worries about a "pinky demo" - that's not on the menu at my house.

If you have any rescues kids love to hear that stuff too.

I have a regen tail guy to bring in and our little Clementine we adopted who has stunted growth. They will definitely be on the "who's who" list to bring.

If you are going to allow touching make them wash their hands first & explain very carefully what is OK. You may want to tell them to put out only their pointer finger so that they can feel that the gecko is dry & bumpy.

I have one particular mellow guy picked out for the kids to touch (not hold) and I have the GermX on the ready

Good luck & whatever you do have fun with it! Oh by the way go to the party store & buy a bag of stretchy lizards to give out to the class. It will help them remember the exciting thing that happened at school later on & you'll be way cool.

Thanks for the well-wishes and great ideas! I was thinking about what to bring - duh, missed the most obvious of a "bag o' reptiles". Oh, and I'm already way cool (man, I crack myself up)